MyShout

Don't stick your head in the snow - go smoke-free now and reap the rewards, says David Elliott

As I write, snow is taking over most of the country, bringing it to a standstill. Well, for one day at least. It always amazes me that we are always so unprepared for snow. The disruption to our roads, railways, airports and schools is incredible - not to mention our workforce. I understand that the investment required to eliminate these problems is too costly for the amount of time they are required for use. I can see the local authorities' point when they explain they don't have snowploughs - after all, they'd be left dormant for 363 days of the year! Is that the same view we have towards the smoking ban and building facilities to accommodate smokers?

It's a serious thought - and one that I believe is resonating across the pub sector as the days leading up to the smoking ban tick by. Unlike the snow, which only affects us very occasionally, the smoking ban could have serious repercussions if we don't take action. Smokers are clearly a valuable part of our business - and they should be well catered-for alongside our non-smoking customers.

Pubs that have plans in place or have constructed a smoking facility should consider going smoke-free now. Why wait until 1 July? Get the smokers used to it, freshen up the pub and help customers see - whether they're smokers or not - that a smoke-free pub is a better place to be. If your smokers are accommodated, there is even a chance they might feel happy!

The Percy Arms in Chilworth, near Guildford - a Greene King pub that went smoke-free last year - is very pleased with the results. A great smoking shelter includes heating and lighting so that smokers can nip out for a cigarette in comfort, but enjoy a much fresher atmosphere when they return indoors. Smokers haven't been put off visiting the pub in winter because they know they're valued as much as non-smokers.

Customers can also help identify what other changes you need to implement before the actual ban. Why not ask customers to help you trial the outside facility? By next winter, you won't have a choice about using it, but you do have time to change or improve things now.

A number of Greene King pubs have chosen to go smoke-free well before the ban in the knowledge that smokers still have a choice, and once the ban starts, they'll have an advantage. But as the licensee of the Old Tom in Oxford told us recently, you do need to be well prepared for the winter months - with smoking pubs up the road, you can lose out. Once the ban starts, however, smoking odours will be long-gone; many smokers who abandoned the pub will have already returned, welcoming its transformation; non-smoking customers likely to remain loyal after the ban will have arrived, and if Aberdeen University research proves correct, staff will have been exposed to 86% less smoke than if smoking was still permitted. So smoke-free pubs will reap the rewards now and post-1 July.

So my message today is "Don't stick your head in the snow - get sorted, accommodate your smokers now and go smoke-free. The ban is coming anyway, so get ahead of the game and learn from the experience."